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Monthly Archives: October 2012

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Another week, another dwindling list of releases! Here are this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

HAPPY #2 – It took me about half the issue to figure out what was going on in Grant Morrison and Darrick Robertson’s new series, but a man and his blue cartoon dragon hallucination should be interesting reading.

JOE KUBERT PRESENTS #1 – DC’s been on my hit list for a while now, and Joe Kubert made it for participating in Before Watchmen, but there’s absolutely no denying that the man is a legend, and for good reason. So as much as I hate to give DC credit, I really respect that they’re putting out 4 issues devoted to a man most comic readers have never heard of before, even if he’s influenced just about everything they read.

ROCKETEER CARGO OF DOOM #3

TICK #101 TICK MEETS MADMAN – I really enjoyed Tick #100 with Invincible and I’m probably more excited to see the big blue bug meet Madman, but I’m going to make sure there’s some actual content in this book before I pick it up, as #100 was too much money for too little story.

Each week I eagerly pull up Diamond’s new releases page, and more and more frequently I’m frustrated by how little I’m picking up. Again, I’m looking for good new titles, particularly for indie presses. Valiant Comics can’t carry me on their own!

ADVENTURE TIME #9

BRAVEST WARRIORS #1 – A new superhero title by Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward, it’s probably a GOOD strategic move that it comes out the same week as Adventure Time’s book. I imagine the target audience is probably a bit less regular in their trips to the comic shop so it’s good cross promotion.

FF #23 – Honestly? At this point I’m so far behind on BOTH Fantastic Four titles I have no idea how to get caught up — that is, in what order to read them to get the whole thing.

GHOST #1 – I went ahead and snagged Ghost #0, but it didn’t really grab me so I’m going to let this one go. It certainly wasn’t an origin — maybe the first part of one — and there was little forward momentum, so that was a wasted opportunity by Dark Horse.

On an unrelated note, this marks my 500th post here at Ye Olde L.E.M.U.R. Comics Blog, and it’s been my privilege to serve you every week. That’s it for this week. What looks good to you?

This week’s cover was ORIGINALLY going to be XO Manowar #6, because it’s such a nice callback to the early Valiant days.

However, I couldn’t allow myself to freely admit I remembered that far back, and it’s not REALLY the best cover I saw this week. That honor goes to Paolo Rivera, with Daredevil #19. And if you’re interested in seeing how it was constructed, check out his excellent blog.

It’s a pretty light week this time around, which is probably okay because, in my absence, a huge box of comics arrived that I picked up for Top Shelf’s huge annual sale. I now have copies of Lost Dogs, Underwater Welder, Wizzywig, and more waiting for me. And it’ll be a nice change of pace from my usual diet of superheroes and capes.

A-BABIES VS X-BABIES #1 – A pox on Marvel Comics. I mean, why in the WORLD does this exist? Is it cute? Is there a point?

DAREDEVIL #19

HAWKEYE #3 – I missed out on the first issue of Clint Barton’s new series but Andrew put this in my hands and mocked me mercilessly until I bought it. Matt (Defenders, Casanova) Fraction and David (I don’t think I’ve read his other work) Aja are putting out a seriously cool comic here. It serves the character very well, as Fraction writes the kind of levity and street-level heroes he’s so good at, and Aja provides a style that’s sparse but has a wonderful sense of graphic design, which leads to pages with tons of beautiful panels that make it incredibly easy to read. Marvel NOW! or no, I see myself as being onboard for a while.

IT GIRL & THE ATOMICS #3

Alright, an enormous stack of Jeff Lemire books are calling me to pick them up. What looks good to you?

Hey, three months of four and I’m starting to feel pretty optimistic about this. It’s going to be a bit shorter, I expect, without DC titles and still on the fence about Marvel NOW!. Let’s dig in to this months Previews.

Boom! Studios

Deathmatch #1 – In the interview, Paul Jenkins proves that not even comics pros can resist the allure of fanfic, as he basically just pits admitted analogues of licensed characters against each other in fights. This first issue is only a dollar, so that’s nice, but I’d much rather see Jenkins work on a new original concept and leave the “who would beat whom” arguments to the comic shops.

Comixtribe

The Red Ten #1 – I wound up supporting writer Tyler James’ recent Kickstarter, and was surprised (though very happy for him) to see his series made it into Previews. This is a great example of a creators’ hard work, dedication, and determination to self-publishing pay off. I just hope it’s good!

Dark Horse Comics

House of Fun – Dark Horse reprints Evan Dorkin’s strips from the recently-relaunched Dark Horse Presents. I’ve really wanted to read them but haven’t been able to overcome the $8 price tag, so thanks to them for giving me the ones I want for $3.50.

DC Comics

Catwoman #15 – I point this out for one reason: the cover. After causing quite a stir with the anatomical impossibilities of her zero issue, DC corrects the problem by redrawing it and…making it essentially the same. And this is the same damn pose! Well learned, DC. F+

Perfectly anatomically impossible.

STILL perfectly anatomically impossible.

Human Bomb #1 – If you like Golden Age characters Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are probably going to do him justice.

JSA: The Liberty Files – The Whistling Skull #1 – It does hurt a bit that I won’t be getting this. A sequel to Liberty Files and a reappropriation of the Whistling Skull character Tony Harris and B. Clay Moore have been trying to get off the ground for a while. I think this will be pretty good!

Justice League #15 – “Throne of Atlantis” kicks off, and under normal circumstances I’d be thrilled to see Aquaman getting center stage so early on. (What? Sure it’s issue 15, but there have only been a handful of story arcs at this point.)

Sleeper Omnibus HC – Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ excellent story of a hero in deep cover with super-villains is excellent AND hard to find. This reprints both volumes, their initial Point Blank mini-series, and a handful of other specials, all for $75.

Wonder Woman #15 – Brian Azzarello starts introducing the New Gods and he’s probably going to do a solid job, but he’s on the double shitlist for participating the Watchmen abomination. Damn, I’m ornery and depressed now…

Fantagraphics Books

Pogo vol 2: Bona Fide Balderdash – I just finished the first volume reprinting Walt Kelly’s exceptional strip. It’s books like this that make the case for the entire concept of these archival reprints. If you haven’t picked up volume 1, save $10 by snagging the box set!

Tales Designed to Thrizzle, Volume Two – I think I’ve said all that needs to be said there.

IDW

The Crow: Skinning the Wolves #1 – After some truly awful movies, minis, and series trying to expand the Crow mythos, I’m inclined to think that the original series was just a magical lightning strike. And yet this new mini has one good thing going for it: James O’Barr is writing and apparently providing at least some of the art. So yes, I’ll give it a go.

Haunted Horror #2 – I have no clue why I missed the first issue last month, but these Golden Age horror reprints are going to be MUCH cheaper than the hardcover archive editions.

Image Comics

Legend of Luthor Strode #1 – I’m not really the target market for Luthor Strode, with it’s disaffected youth and insane amount of violence. And yet Justin Jordan wrote such a strong and compelling story the violence and gore felt almost like an integral part of the story. I’m happy to come back for more.

Saga #8 – Seeing this has just reminded me how long it’s been since I’ve seen an issue of Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ amazing sci-fi series. If an occasional break is what it takes to get Saga I will happily accept the wait.

Marvel Comics

Amazing Spider-Man #700 – “LAST ISSUE!” we’re supposed to believe, before the whole thing becomes “Superior” Spider-Man and Peter Parker goes off the rails. But Dan Slott’s always done right by Spidey and I do love anniversary issues. This one clocks in at 104 pages for $8.

Avengers #1 & 2 – I think I’ve gone on the record as being pretty much in the bag for Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four family of titles (despite being about a year behind), but the few issues of his Secret Avengers I’ve read didn’t do a lot for me so I suspect I’ll check it out but won’t add it to the pull list.

Avengers Arena #1 & 2 – I’m intrigued by the concept, but not more than the distaste I feel for the concept. And therefore myself. The Geoff Johnsing of the Marvel U begins here!

Cable and X-Force #1 & 2 – I’ve always thought X-Force works best with Cable than without him, it’s always been “his” team to me. But for the love of all that’s good why in the world would we believe a man with a healing factor and one bionic eye would need an eye patch?!?!?

Essential X-Men Vol. 11 TPB – The Essential reprints are up to the Muir Island Saga! This the point at which I truly feel like the old guy, since this is where I really started picking up X-Men regularly. Ouch.

Thunderbolts #1 & 2 – The T-Bolts, which I’ve loved then been indifferent to (and then repeated the cycle) are now under new guidance with Daniel Way and Steve Dillon. And while I don’t know much of Way, Dillon’s artwork will almost always make me check out a book. And the team of Red Hulk, Venom, Elektra, Deadpool, and the Punisher remind me of the Defenders non-team concept more than anything else, but I admit I’m intrigued.

X-Men #39 – Domino and Daredevil. Am I the only one who really wants to read that? I am? Okay, moving on…

PS Artbooks

Phantom Lady volume 1 – Golden Age reprints of the title character (and relation of Jack Knight!) by Roy Thomas, Carmine Infantino, and others.

Rebellion/2000 AD

Judge Dredd: The Garth Ennis Collection TP – Last month I noted the Brian Bolland collection, but a Garth Ennis collection? Even better!

Twomorrows Publishing

Modern Masters: Marie Severin and Eric Powell – I lovelovelove the Modern Masters series. They are incredibly well-written and researched interviews with a wide range of comic creators along with some some pretty great and new art. Eric Powell is one of our favorites here, and Marie Severin is bond to be full of great stories from the Silver Age of comics.

Books and Magazines

Girls and Corpses Magazine – I don’t know WHAT the hell this thing is, but that is a pretty damn small niche market. Or at least, I hope it is. Oy vey.

Diamond Select Toys

Star Trek Select Kirk Figure – This looks AWESOME! That is all.

Orders must be in to your LCS by October 18, 2012 and are scheduled to arrive in December.

I’m still on the fence about Marvel NOW! It feels like a better place to jump off than on, as Marvel reshuffles their deck chairs somewhat arbitrarily. I’m open to comments and suggestions, though. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Well, I’m back from my vacation, rested but somewhat disappointed that my Loch Ness Monster-hunting trip was unsuccessful. After so much time without comics (I know, what was I thinking!) I’m eager to pick up the books I’ve missed and plan for this week’s. And with that, here are this week’s new and noteworthy titles.

AME COMI GIRLS #1 – As proof DC is just a licensing machine now, here come comics based solely on sexy statues of their characters. Lovely.

BEST AMERICAN COMICS HC 2012 – I’ve gotten a couple of these in the past (admittedly pretty late and from the discount bin), but you’re guaranteed some quality comics by some great indie creators, both familiar and un.

BLOODSHOT (ONGOING) #4 – I’m as surprised as anyone, but Valiant’s new Bloodshot title is well-written, well-drawn, and a bit of a trippy mystery. This is a 90’s revival comic done right, without having to reinvent the entire premise.

FANTASTIC FOUR #611

PUNK ROCK JESUS #4

TRANSFORMERS REGENERATION ONE #84 – I feel like an issue of ReGen One JUST came out, but I love it so I’ll take it.